🔥 In this 'Hot Item', Sebastian Becker, policy advisor at EDRi (European Digital Rights), & the media lab discuss EDRi’s position on the Article 17 media privilege / media exemption of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA).📌Hot Item Highlights⏲️[00:00] Intro⏲️[00:38] Sebastian Becker⏲️[08:40] Wrap-up & Outro🗣️ EDRi is not alone on this. There's a lot of academics, fact checkers organisations and even independent publishers who have declared similar positions on Article 17 EMFA.🗣️ A 24-hour must-carry obligation for media content: (...)  this would be an exception for content moderation policies of very large online platforms. This is problematic (...) The EP CULT Committee is missing the bigger picture.🗣️ The nature of media service providers does not prevent them from publishing disinformation, propaganda or harmful content. This 24-hour must-carry obligation could open the door to malicious actors.🗣️ This rule creates an exception for a specific actor on how content moderation rules work in the DSA. Article 17 EMFA does not follow the DSA logic and rules that are already approved in this horizontal regulation.🗣️ The CULT Committee [proposals] could jeopardise [the] fight against disinformation. (...) [certain] measures such as down ranking, labelling or diluting visibility of media content will not be possible or could be challenged by media.➡️ European Parliament’s CULT committee set to greenlight controversial amendment to the EMFA in today’s vote (EDRi)➡️ EU: How will the Media Freedom Act deal with journalism on social media? (ARTICLE 19)

In this podcast MEP Marcel Kolaja (European Pirates, Greens/EFA Group) & the media lab discuss the Media Freedom Act and ‘How To Fix’: the media privilege📌Episode Highlights⏲️[00:00] Intro⏲️[00:49] Media Freedom Act - ‘How To Fix’: The Media Privilege⏲️[04:50] Outro📌About Our Guest🎙️ MEP Marcel Kolaja | Czech MEP & EP Quaestor, European Pirates - Greens/EFA Group🐦 https://twitter.com/piratkolaja🌐 The benefits and shortcomings of the Media Freedom Act🌐 European Parliament MEP PageMEP Marcel Kolaja — member and the 1st vice-president of the Czech Pirate Party— is a Member and Quaestor of the European parliament. He engages in the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO), the Committee on Culture and Education (CULT), and the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in the Digital Age (AIDA), as well as in the delegations for relations with the United States (D-US) and with India (D-IN). His work is mainly focused on topics related to the functioning of society in the digital age. Marcel Kolaja stands for open technologies, freedom on the Internet, independence of media, transparency, and a united Europe.

In this podcast Rita Jonušaitė (EU DisinfoLab) & the media lab discuss the Media Freedom Act and ‘How To Fix’: the media exemption📌Episode Highlights⏲️[00:00] Intro⏲️[00:47] Media Freedom Act - ‘How To Fix’: The Media Exemption⏲️[07:26] Outro📌About Our Guest🎙️ Rita Jonušaitė | Advocacy Coordinator, EU DisinfoLab🐦 https://twitter.com/RitaJonusaite🌐 Policy Statement on Article 17 of the Proposed European Media Freedom Act - EU DisinfoLab🌐 Twitter thread on the Media Exemption - EU DisinfoLab🌐 The European Commission’s EMFA Proposal is Paving the Way for the Media Exemption to Come Back - EU DisinfoLab🌐 Reject the Media Exemption - EU DisinfoLab 🌐 EU DisinfoLab🌐 Rita JonušaitėRita Jonušaitė is Advocacy Coordinator at EU DisinfoLab, an independent non-profit organisation focused on tackling sophisticated disinformation campaigns targeting the EU, its member states, core institutions, and core values. Previously Rita worked at the European Youth Forum as Policy and Advocacy Manager and prior to that at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania. At the moment Rita is also pursuing a degree in IP & ICT Law at the KU Leuven university in Belgium.

In this podcast Dr. Joan Barata (Future of Free Speech Project @ Justitia) & the media lab discuss the Media Freedom Act and ‘How To Fix’: the media privilege📌Episode Highlights⏲️[00:00] Intro⏲️[01:22] Media Freedom Act - ‘How To Fix’: The Media Privilege⏲️[12:01] Outro📌About Our Guest🎙️ Dr. Joan Barata | Senior Legal Fellow, Future of Free Speech Project @ Justitia🐦 https://twitter.com/joanbarata🌐 Protecting Media Content on Social Media Platforms: The European Media Freedom Act’s Biased Approach (Verfassungsblog)🌐 Joan Barata is joining The Future of Free Speech (Justitia)Since recording this episode in January 2023, Dr. Joan Barata joined Justitia’s Future of Free Speech project as a Senior Legal Fellow. He is also a Fellow at the Cyber Policy Center of Stanford University. He works on freedom of expression, media and communications regulation, and intermediary liability issues. Dr. Barata teaches at various universities in different parts of the world and has published many articles and books on these subjects, both in academic and popular press. His work has taken him to most regions of the world, and he is regularly involved in projects with international organisations such as UNESCO, the Council of Europe, the Organization of American States, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, where he was the principal advisor to the Representative on Media Freedom. Dr. Barata also has experience as a regulator, as he held the position of Secretary General of the Audiovisual Council of Catalonia in Spain and was member of the Permanent Secretariat of the Mediterranean Network of Regulatory Authorities.

In this podcast Eva Simon (Liberties) & the media lab discuss the Media Freedom Act and ‘How To Fix’: transparency📌Episode Highlights⏲️[00:00] Intro⏲️[01:04] Media Freedom Act - ‘How To Fix’: The Protection of Sources⏲️[08:41] Outro📌About Our Guest🎙️ Eva Simon | Senior Advocacy Officer, Liberties🐦 https://twitter.com/evasimon_info🌐 media lab - Season 1 Episode🌐 Rights Groups Urge EU Policy Makers To Strengthen Media Freedom (co-signed by Liberties)🌐 Liberties’ Take to Make Media Freedom Stronger in the EU: EMFA Policy Brief🌐 Joint Statement on the Proposal for the European Media Freedom Act (co-signed by Liberties)🌐 Liberties’ Comment on the EC’s EMFA Proposal🌐 Liberties🌐 Eva SimonEva Simon is a senior advocacy officer at the Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties). Liberties is a Berlin-based EU watchdog organisation. Eva works on issues related to the field of freedom of expression and data protection. She is a human rights lawyer with a special focus on digital rights. Besides her EU-level advocacy work, Eva works on strategic litigation across EU member states. She has been active in human rights work for more than fifteen years. Prior to joining the NGO world, Eva worked as a media lawyer and a researcher. She was a research fellow at the Central European University (2006), at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, New York, USA (2005) and at the Technical University of Budapest, Hungary (2001-2005). She has authored expert studies, book chapters and articles on privacy and media freedom.

In this podcast Prof. Lorna Woods (University of Essex) & the media lab discuss the Media Freedom Act and ‘How To Fix’: the media privilege📌Episode Highlights⏲️[00:00] Intro⏲️[01:06] Media Freedom Act - ‘How To Fix’: The Media Privilege⏲️[09:48] Outro📌About Our Guest🎙️ Prof. Lorna Woods | Professor in Internet Law, University of Essex🌐 EU Law Analysis: The EU Commission’s Proposal on Media Freedom Regulation🌐 Human Rights Centre, University of Essex🌐 Prof. Lorna WoodsLorna Woods is a Professor of Internet Law at the University of Essex and a member of the Human Rights Centre there. She started her career in practice at a commercial solicitors’ firm before moving to academia where she has taught and conducted research in media and telecommunications regulation, at both national and EU levels. Prof. Woods regularly gives oral evidence to Parliamentary inquiries across the technology, media and telecommunications sectors both in the UK and abroad. She also published widely in these fields, and has been country expert for the UK in respect of a number of Commission funded projects. Her current research project with Carnegie UK Trust is on reducing harm arising on social media.

In this podcast Prof. em. Dirk Voorhoof (Human Rights Centre, Ghent University) & the media lab discuss the Media Freedom Act and ‘How To Fix’: the protection of sources📌Episode Highlights⏲️[00:00] Intro⏲️[01:16] Media Freedom Act - ‘How To Fix’: The Protection of Sources⏲️[05:38] Outro📌About Our Guest🎙️ Prof. em. Dirk Voorhoof | Professor emeritus, Human Rights Centre - Ghent University🌐 European Media Freedom Act and the Protection of Journalistic Sources: Still Some Way to Go🌐 Freedom of Expression, the Media and Journalists Case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (7th edition - April 2022, European Audiovisual Observatory)🌐 CASE, the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe🌐 European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)🌐 Legal Human Academy🌐 Human Rights Centre, Ghent University🌐 Prof. em. Dirk VoorhoofProf. em. Dirk Voorhoof has been a lecturer in European Media and Information Law at the Ghent University and Copenhagen University for decades and he reports on developments regarding freedom of expression, media and journalism in Europe. He is co-founder and member of the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom and is also a member of such initiatives as the Legal Human Academy, the Human Rights Centre at Ghent University and CASE, the coalition against SLAPPs in Europe. Prof. em. Voorhoof has also contributed to the work of regulators such as the Flemish Media Regulator and is a member of multiple expert networks. He has published extensively with a focus on freedom of expression and more recently the impact of SLAPPs.

In this podcast Oliver Money-Kyrle (International Press Institute) & the media lab discuss the Media Freedom Act and ‘How To Fix’: media capture📌Episode Highlights⏲️[00:00] Intro⏲️[01:09] Media Freedom Act - ‘How To Fix’: Media Capture⏲️[06:48] Outro📌About Our Guest🎙️ Oliver Money-Kyrle | Head of Europe Advocacy and Programmes, International Press Institute🐦 https://twitter.com/ollymk🌐 IPI position on the European Media Freedom Act🌐 International Press Institute (IPI)🌐 Oliver Money-KyrleOliver Money-Kyrle joined IPI, the International Press Institute, in September 2019 first as Turkey campaign coordinator and then as Head of Europe Advocacy and Programmes. He leads IPI’s advocacy around EU legislation including the Rule of Law mechanism, the safety of journalists’ recommendations, the Anti-Slapp directive and now the European Media Freedom Act. He has been specifically focused on the question of media capture, faced by IPI’s members in central and Eastern Europe. Oliver has over two decades of experience in the press freedom and media development field, having previously worked as Director of programmes at the International Federation of Journalists.

📌Episode Highlights⏲️[00:00] Intro⏲️[01:02] Media Freedom Act - ‘How To Fix’: Media Plurality⏲️[07:02] Outro📌About Our Guest🎙️ Prof. Elda Brogi | Part-time Professor & Scientific Coordinator, EUI & Centre for Media Pluralism and Freedom🐦 https://twitter.com/eldaelda🌐 Media Freedom Act: Elda Brogi gives testimony at the European Parliament (European University Institute)🌐 EP CULT Committee 6 February 2023 EMFA Hearing Intervention (from 17:08 to 17:18 and 17:49 to 17:57)🌐 Why the European Media Freedom Act is a Groundbreaking Step for Europe🌐 Media Pluralism Monitor 2022🌐 Centre for Media Pluralism and Freedom🌐 European Digital Media Observatory🌐 Prof. Elda BrogiElda Brogi is Professor at EUI, the European University Institute, and Scientific coordinator at the Centre for Media Pluralism and Freedom. She is also a Member of the Executive Board of the European Digital Media Observatory, where she coordinates the “Policy research and analysis” work stream. She teaches Communication Law at the University of Florence and was co-rapporteur for the Draft recommendation on electoral communication and media coverage of election campaigns for the Council of Europe, where she serves as a member of various expert committees.

📌Episode Highlights⏲️[00:00] Intro⏲️[02:06] Media Freedom Act - ‘How To Fix’: The Media Privilege⏲️[10:36] Outro📌About Our Guest🎙️ Dr. Iva Nenadic | Research Fellow, Centre for Media Pluralism & Freedom🐦 https://twitter.com/ivalitre🌐 Why the European Media Freedom Act is a Groundbreaking Step for Europe🌐 Centre for Media Pluralism and Freedom🌐 European Digital Media Observatory🌐 Dr. Iva NenadicDr. Iva Nenadic holds a PhD in Communication Science, and studies media pluralism in the context of content curation, ranking and moderation policies of online platforms, the democratic implications such policies may have, and related regulatory interventions. She works at the Centre for Media Pluralism and Freedom of the European University Institute, where she coordinates and supervises the implementation of the Media Pluralism Monitor in the area of Political Independence. She also takes part in the European Digital Media Observatory, where she conducts relevant research and analysis of policies designed to respond to disinformation challenges, and teaches courses in media policy, and computational propaganda at the Faculty of Political Science of the Zagreb University. Prior to her academic work, Iva worked with a number of media in Croatia as a journalist, editor, and producer.

📌Episode Highlights⏲️[00:00] Intro⏲️[01:05] Media Freedom Act - ‘How To Fix’: EU Funding⏲️[05:23] Outro📌About Our Guest🎙️ Radan Kanev | Bulgarian MEP, EPP Group🐦 https://twitter.com/rmkanev🌐 How Member States’ Consultation Might Impact the European Media Freedom Act (EURACTIV)🌐 European Parliament MEP PageMEP Radan Kanev is a Bulgarian politician and a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in the EPP Group. He started his political activities as a political blogger in 2004, and has since continuously been involved in the topics of media freedom, transparency and alternative forms of public communication. During his active political career, he was chairman of the centre-right Democrats for a strong Bulgaria and served in the National Assembly of Bulgaria. In the European Parliament, he is currently active in three Committees: (1) Petitions, (2) Employment and social affairs and (3) Environment, public health and food safety.

📌Episode Highlights⏲️[00:00] Intro⏲️[01:04] Media Freedom Act - ‘How To Fix’: (1) Enforcement, (2) Transparency & (3) State Capture⏲️[07:45] Outro📌About Our Guest🎙️ Marius Dragomir | Founding Director, Media and Journalism Research Center🐦 https://twitter.com/mariusdrag🌐 Report - State Media in 2022: From Worse to Worse🌐 Media and Journalism Research Center🌐 Marius DragomirMarius Dragomir is the founding director of the Media and Journalism Research Center, that builds on the work of the Center for Media, Data and Society. The Center is an international think tank focused on the study of media, journalism, politics and technology. Marius is also a professor at the Central European University in Vienna where he teaches journalism and research design courses as well as practical classes on advocacy and policy engagement. Before, he managed the global research and policy portfolio of the Program on Independent Journalism of the Open Society Foundations in London.

📌Episode Highlights⏲️[00:00] Intro⏲️[01:31] Q1 - What does (protecting) media freedom mean to you?⏲️[04:46] Q2 - What should the EU legislators do or do better to protect media freedom?⏲️[11:46] Q3 - What are the pitfalls that EU legislators should avoid when trying to protect the media and its freedom?⏲️[17:46] You have 2 minutes to deliver a message to the powers that be in the EU: make your case.⏲️[20:18] Outro📌About Our Guest🎙️ Dr. Damian Tambini | Associate Professor Department of Media and Communications, London School of Economics🐦 https://twitter.com/damiantambini🌐 ‘Media Freedom’ (2021)🌐 Dr. Damian TambiniDr. Damian Tambini is Distinguished Policy Fellow, and Associate Professor in the Department of Media and Communications at LSE, where he also serves as Programme Director for the MSc Media and Communications (Governance). He is the author of many articles on media and communications regulation and policy, as well as the author and editor of several books. His most recent book is ‘Media Freedom’, published in 2021, which was described as essential reading by European Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová over the summer. As an expert in media and communications regulation and policy, Dr. Tambini is frequently called to give evidence to parliamentary committees and provide formal and informal policy advice to governments and international organisations.

📌Episode Highlights⏲️[00:00] Intro⏲️[01:28] Q1 - What does (protecting) media freedom mean to you?⏲️[03:40] Q2 - What should the EU legislators do or do better to protect media freedom?⏲️[06:59] Q3 - What are the pitfalls that EU legislators should avoid when trying to protect the media and its freedom?⏲️[10:46] You have 2 minutes to deliver a message to the powers that be in the EU: make your case.⏲️[12:05] Outro📌About Our Guest🎙️ Thomas Noppen | Board Member, New Media Denmark🐦 https://twitter.com/thomasnoppen🌐 European Media Freedom Act EIMP Position Paper: “Boost media pluralism through a level playing field online” 🌐 European Innovative Media Publishers🌐 New Media DenmarkThomas Noppen is a board member and previous chair of New Media Denmark. An organisation which he founded to create a unified political voice for small and medium sized digital and innovative media publications in Denmark. His journalistic experience ranges from hosting a weekend show on Danish national radio to founding and managing an online newspaper before editing a printed design magazine. At a European level, he's part of the steering committee at the European Innovative Media Publishers.

📌Episode Highlights⏲️[00:00] Intro⏲️[01:18] Q1 - What does (protecting) media freedom mean to you?⏲️[04:21] Q2 - What should the EU legislators do or do better to protect media freedom?⏲️[12:13] Q3 - What are the pitfalls that EU legislators should avoid when trying to protect the media and its freedom?⏲️[20:14] You have 2 minutes to deliver a message to the powers that be in the EU: make your case.⏲️[22:48] Outro📌About Our Guest🎙️ Eva Simon | Senior Advocacy Officer, Liberties🐦 https://twitter.com/evasimon_info🌐 Liberties’ Take To Make Media Freedom Stronger In The EU: EMFA Policy Brief🌐 Joint Statement on the Proposal for the European Media Freedom Act (co-signed by Liberties)🌐 Liberties' Comment on the EC’s EMFA Proposal🌐 LibertiesEva Simon is a senior advocacy officer at the Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties). Liberties is a Berlin-based EU watchdog organisation. Eva works on issues related to the field of freedom of expression and data protection. She is a human rights lawyer with a special focus on digital rights. Besides her EU-level advocacy work, Eva works on strategic litigation across EU member states. She has been active in human rights work for more than fifteen years. Prior to joining the NGO world, Eva worked as a media lawyer and a researcher. She was a research fellow at the Central European University (2006), at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University, New York, USA (2005) and at the Technical University of Budapest, Hungary (2001-2005). She has authored expert studies, book chapters and articles on privacy and media freedom.

📌Episode Highlights⏲️[00:00] Intro⏲️[00:59] Q1 - What does (protecting) media freedom mean to you?⏲️[05:26] Q2 - What should the EU legislators do or do better to protect media freedom?⏲️[13:58] Q3 - What are the pitfalls that EU legislators should avoid when trying to protect the media and its freedom?⏲️[17:46] You have 2 minutes to deliver a message to the powers that be in the EU: make your case.⏲️[22:03] Outro📌About Our Guest🎙️ Renate Schroeder | Director, European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)🐦 https://twitter.com/renatemargot🌐 EFJ Position on the European Media Freedom Act (Jan, 2023)🌐 Joint Statement on the Proposal for the European Media Freedom Act (co-signed by EFJ)🌐 European Federation of JournalistsRenate Schroeder is the Director of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ). In 1993 she joined the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and since 2003 she works for the EFJ. Advocacy at EU and Council of Europe level; presentation of EFJ at international meetings, fact-finding media freedom missions; member of juries of journalistic prizes, project work and advisor of several EFJ expert groups on freelancers, media literacy and digital journalism, cover her work-load in the small dynamic Brussels office. Renate Schroeder studied International Relations and Political Science at Boston University (Bachelor’s Degree in 1988) and in Berlin at the Free University (Masters in 1992). She worked at the United Nations, New York, the research institute FAST in Berlin and the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation in Brussels before she joined the EFJ. She is of German nationality and speaks English, French, Italian, German and Spanish (passive)

📌Episode Highlights⏲️[00:00] Intro⏲️[01:18] Q1 - What does (protecting) media freedom mean to you?⏲️[09:37] Q2 - What should the EU legislators do or do better to protect media freedom?⏲️[16:45] Q3 - What are the pitfalls that EU legislators should avoid when trying to protect the media and its freedom?⏲️[24:45] You have 2 minutes to deliver a message to the powers that be in the EU: make your case.⏲️[27:33] Outro📌About Our Guest🎙️ Sebastian Esser | Founder Krautreporter & Steady🐦 https://twitter.com/sebastianesser🌐 https://krautreporter.de🌐 https://steadyhq.com🌐 https://sebastian-esser.deSebastian is a journalist and entrepreneur in Berlin, Germany, and the founder of member-funded digital magazine Krautreporter and of Steady, a membership platform for independent publishers. Krautreporter was crowdfunded in 2014 and publishes one story a day on politics and society. The cooperative specialises in ad-free, independent, engaged journalism. Krautreporter has 17,000 paying members today. Steady, founded in 2017, helps independent publishers easily launch membership programs. It has paid out more than 20 million Euros to 1,500 member-funded publications across Europe so far.

📌Episode Highlights⏲️[00:00] Intro⏲️[01:17] Q1 - What does (protecting) media freedom mean to you?⏲️[05:01] Q2 - What should the EU legislators do or do better to protect media freedom?⏲️[12:29] Q3 - What are the pitfalls that EU legislators should avoid when trying to protect the media and its freedom?⏲️[18:43] You have 2 minutes to deliver a message to the powers that be in the EU: make your case.⏲️[22:55] Outro📌About Our Guest🎙️ Tom Gibson | Committee to Protect Journalists🐦 https://twitter.com/at_tgibson🌐 https://www.ecpmf.eu/joint-statement-... 🌐 https://cpj.org/Tom Gibson joined the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in January 2017 and is CPJ’s lead advocate in Brussels covering the institutions of the European Union. Between 2014 and 2016, Gibson managed Protection International's Burundi and Congo desks, advocating for stronger state accountability for the protection of human rights defenders and journalists as well as developing emergency responses and protection measures.  Previously, he worked in Amnesty International's Africa program from 2005 to 2014, based in London and Nairobi, during which he mainly researched human rights violations in the Great Lakes region of Africa.

📌Episode Highlights⏲️[00:00] Intro⏲️[01:06] Q1 - What does (protecting) media freedom mean to you?⏲️[06:55] Q2 - What should the EU legislators do or do better to protect media freedom?⏲️[12:44] Q3 - What are the pitfalls that EU legislators should avoid when trying to protect the media and its freedom?⏲️[16:16] You have 2 minutes to deliver a message to the powers that be in the EU: make your case.⏲️[17:42] Outro📌About Our Guest🎙️ Maria Luisa Stasi | ARTICLE 19🐦 https://twitter.com/isa_stasi🌐 https://www.article19.org Maria Luisa Stasi is a competition lawyer by training and the Head of Law and Policy for digital markets at ARTICLE 19, where she contributes to the development of the organisation’s policies with regards to digital and media markets, as well as the internet infrastructure. In addition, she provides legal support to the organisation’s regional offices on digital rights and media policy issues. Maria Luisa is also a researcher at Tilburg University, focusing on pro-competitive remedies for free expression challenges in social media markets. Previously, Maria Luisa coordinated research, policy and capacity building projects at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies of the European University Institute, and worked for various years as associate competition lawyer at the Italian leading law firm Bonelli Erede.

📌Episode Highlights⏲️[00:00] Intro⏲️[01:17] Q1 - What does (protecting) media freedom mean to you?⏲️[03:23] Q2 - What should the EU legislators do or do better to protect media freedom?⏲️[05:59] Q3 - What are the pitfalls that EU legislators should avoid when trying to protect the media and its freedom?⏲️[10:45] You have 2 minutes to deliver a message to the powers that be in the EU: make your case.⏲️[12:08] Outro📌About Our Guest🎙️ Prof. Rasmus Kleis Nielsen | Reuters Institute, Oxford University🐦 https://twitter.com/rasmus_kleis  🌐 https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk🌐 https://rasmuskleisnielsen.net Prof. Rasmus Kleis Nielsen is Director of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and Professor of Political Communication at the University of Oxford. His research is focused on the changing role of news and media in our societies. He has written extensively about journalism, digital media, the business of news, political communication and related topics in a variety of scholarly articles. He has also edited volumes, and books, including ‘Ground Wars: Personalized Communication in Political Campaigns’ and ‘The Power of Platforms’. He is also co-author of the annual Digital News Report of the Reuters Institute.